Privately owned plants produced about 96% of Bahrain's public water supply in 2022. The Electricity and Water Authority's Statistical Book 2022 lists 213.22 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD) of installed capacity, of which 195 MIGD, or 91.5%, belonged to four private companies. The government's own plants, led by the 16 MIGD Ras Abu Jarjur reverse osmosis plant, made up the rest.
Four companies, one supply
Hidd Power Company alone produced 42.9% of the 60,547 million imperial gallons made in 2022. Al Dur Power & Water Company produced 28.0% and Haya Power & Desalination Company 23.4%. Installed capacity was still 213.22 MIGD in the 2024 book, when average daily production reached 168.89 MIGD.
Thin competition for the next plants
EWA is now buying two more private plants. The Hidd Independent Water Project, at up to 60 MIGD, drew bids from Acwa and GS Inima. GS Inima was disqualified, leaving Acwa at a levelised cost of water of BD0.276 (US$0.73) per cubic metre, still under evaluation in July 2026. The Sitra Independent Water and Power Project, which includes 30 MIGD of desalination, drew two bids after nine firms prequalified in December 2024. Acwa was lowest at a first-year water tariff of BD0.4915 per cubic metre, and an award is expected by end-2026.
What is at stake
Together the two plants equal about 42.2% of 2024 installed capacity, and each contract runs for 20–25 years. No award for either had been announced by 7 November 2026, and the published dates for Hidd already differ: commercial operation in Q2 2028, or full operation by 2029.
How storage, water quality and network renewal have changed since 2015, what a draft law to dissolve EWA would change, and how far citizens' water tariffs sit below EWA's stated cost are covered in the report. The full report, Water Systems Overview: Electricity and Water Authority, is available for USD 499. For a free overview, read the Electricity and Water Authority Utility Snapshot.